Peter Wells (1950 – 18 February 2019),

A small selection of the work of Peter Wells, (1950 – 18 February 2019), highly acclaimed award-winning New Zealand author, historian and film-maker. He passed away in Auckland's Mercy Hospice surrounded by close friends and his husband, Douglas Lloyd-Jenkins. Wells was one of the country's first openly gay writers and explored such themes in novels and films. He graduated from the University of Auckland (BA) in 1972. In Hawke's Bay he was a key driver in the recognition of Napier’s Art Deco heritage. His television documentary, 'Newest City on the Globe', was a major catalyst for the revival of interest in the Art Deco period. One of the 1985 series of TV dramas 'About Face' on contemporary urban issues was 'Jewel's Darl' which follows a day in the life of a transsexual, and starred the young Georgina Beyer. A later documentary 'Georgie Girl' tells the life story of Georgina Beyer, from sex worker, to actor, to Mayor of Carterton and Member of Parliament. In 1986 he wrote and directed NZ's first TV drama about AIDS, 'A Death in the Family'. The 1993 film 'Desperate Remedies' is a high camp melodrama set in the 19th century with themes of opium, sex and undesirable suitors. In 2006 he was announced as a member in the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature and film.

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